How you doin’? Do you find that you have more time to test new recipes these days? Here’s one of my favorite lighter recipes from China Rose my Arlington, Texas restaurant—made with fresh American produce. 

I love minced chicken lettuce wraps. They are low in carbs and I can stuff my face without any guilt whatsoever. This is the easiest, quickest, healthiest meal you could ever make. If you have good moves in the kitchen, you can easily get this on your dinner table in less than 15 minutes. Plus, it’s budget friendly, too! You can easily double or triple this recipe as needed.
 

Prep time:  9 minutes
Cook time:  6 minutes
Yield:  4 servings
 
Ingredients
 
For the lettuce cups
1/2 head of iceberg lettuce, leaves separated into cups and washed
 
For the Gai Soong stir-fry sauce
1 tablespoon sherry wine
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon corn starch
1/2 teaspoon chili oil
 
For the chicken filling
2 tablespoons peanut oil
3/4 cup chicken, uncooked, minced (thigh meat recommended; see ChefSecret)
1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1/3 cup fresh oyster or brown mushrooms, minced
2/3 cup bamboo shoots, minced
2/3 cup water chestnuts, minced
2/3 cup celery, minced
1 teaspoon red jalapeño peppers, minced
1/3 cup green onions, minced (tops and bottoms)
 
Directions

1. Pull the lettuce “cups” from the iceberg lettuce head; wash and set aside to dry.
2. Combine all the sauce ingredients and set aside.
3. Heat the peanut oil in a wok or large sauté pan.
4. Add the chicken, garlic and ginger; stir-fry for about 3 minutes, breaking the chicken into small pieces.
5. Add the mushrooms, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, celery, and red peppers; stir fry for 2 minutes longer.
6. Add the prepared stir-fry sauce and green onions.
7. Stir-fry together for about 30 seconds.
8. Transfer to a platter with washed and dried lettuce cups and serve with your favorite Asian condiments.

ChefSecret: 

• Be sure to give the stir fry sauce a quick stir before adding it the wok.
• You can use chicken breast meat if you like, but I prefer to use thigh meat as it remains more moist and flavorful during the stir-fry process. Can also be made with shrimp, beef, pork or tofu.
  
• You can use romaine leaves if that’s what you have on hand, but they’re not as easy to eat.
  

#LettuceWraps #Chicken #GaiSoong #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen

                                                                                                                                       … from the California Kitchen
 
How you doin’? By the number of responses we’ve been getting, I assume our readers are getting used to living in quarantine—hard to believe it’s only been 35 days. I’m happy to see that many of our friends have taken up cooking. Half of us are going to come out of quarantine as amazing cooks—the other half will come out with a weight and/or drinking problem. We will have to learn to practice social-distancing from the refrigerator.
 
That said I thought it best to offer a lighter option for the menu. My friend Martha in Carefree, Arizona asked for an egg or chicken recipe. The Spring Garden Crustless Quiche is healthful, Keto-compliant and very tasty.
 
This is one of our favorite summer brunch recipes from our Palm Grill restaurant in San Francisco—the original California Kitchen. It’s a great recipe to make when springtime vegetables are fresh, plentiful and inexpensive. You can use a little less kale if you prefer a fluffier quiche.
 
Prep time:  20 minutes
Bake time:  50 minutes
Cool time:  5 minutes
Yield:  4 to 6 servings
 
Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil, or as needed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups chopped kale (or a little less for a fluffier quiche)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh black pepper, or to taste
1 cup diced tomato
1/2 cup shredded carrots (or other vegetable for Keto)
5 large eggs
3/4 cup half & half
8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley
 
Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350°F.
2. Grease a 9-inch pie pan with 1 teaspoon of olive oil.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; stir onion and garlic in the hot oil until garlic is fragrant, about 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Add the kale, salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until the kale is wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir the tomato and carrots (if using) into the kale mixture; cook for 5 more minutes. Remove skillet from heat.
5. Whisk the eggs and half & half together in a bowl.
6. Stir the Cheddar cheese, kale mixture, and parsley into the egg mixture; pour into the prepared pie dish.
7. Bake in the preheated oven until the quiche is set in the middle and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.  
8. Cool in pie dish for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

#Quiche #KetoCompliant #Brunch #Lunch #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19